The new Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 hasn’t even officially hit the street yet, but it’s already proving to be one of the most potent American sports cars of all time. It recently achieved a top speed record at the High-Speed Oval Track at ATP Automotive Testing in Papenburg, Germany. Now, the ZR1 is breaking even more records here in America.
Chevrolet unleashed the ZR1 on five of America’s best tracks: Road America, Road Atlanta, Virginia International Raceway—the Full Course and the Grand Course—and Watkins Glen. With GM employees and engineers behind the wheel, the ZR1 racked up lap records at every single track.
| Track | Lap Time | Driver |
| Road America | 2:08.6 | Brian Wallace, Lead Vehicle Dynamics Engineer |
| Road Atlanta | 1:22.8 | Chris Barber, Lead Development Engineer |
| VIR Full Course | 1:47.7 | Aaron Link, Global Vehicle Performance Manager |
| VIR Grand Course | 2:32.3 | Aaron Link, Global Vehicle Performance Manager |
| Watkins Glen | 1:52.7 | Bill Wise, Lead Performance Engineer, Chassis Controls |
The ZR1 shattered the Porsche 911 GT3 RS's Road America lap time by a full five seconds (2:13.8) with Corvette lead vehicle dynamic engineer Brian Wallace behind the wheel.
"I went in with a stretch goal, ‘cause that’s what racers do," said Brian Wallace, the Corvette's lead vehicle dynamic engineer, in an interview with GM News. "I said, I know I can get a 2:10, but a 2:09 is completely different."
"I hadn’t driven the car at Road America before, but I knew the track well. I knew where I wanted to place the car in every corner on the track. The challenge was dialing into the extra speed I had going into the corners compared to my previous trips to Road America. I had to back up my brake markers everywhere. In the ZR1, they come up on you so damn fast."
You can watch Wallace's full run below:
Chris Barber, the Corvette's lead development engineer, broke the GT2 RS's record at Road Atlanta by two seconds (1:24.8).
"It’s pretty incredible to be that much faster than a Corvette that was already so fast," he says. "I drove the track in our simulator a few times to get an idea. We knew we had a very, very good shot at beating the record. The hope was to destroy it, and that’s what we ended up doing."
Meanwhile, on the VIR Grand Course, global vehicle performance manager Aaron Link outgunned the $1.2-million McLaren Senna behind the wheel of the ZR1 by a healthy two seconds (2:34.9).
"VIR was always my hope," Link said. "I went to school at Virginia Tech, two-and-a-half hours away, so I always had this connection to the track and this region. It feels like a track set in the middle of a state park. I love the feel of it. On our last development trip there, I was the fastest. This track suits my driving style."
Powered by a twin-turbocharged 5.5-liter flat-plane-crank V-8, the ZR1 makes 1,064 horsepower and 828 pound-feet of torque. That sends it to 60 mph in 2.3 seconds and on to a top speed of 233 mph.
The record-setting car in question was equipped with the optional ZTK performance package, which costs an extra $1,500 (before adding the mandatory Carbon pack). That option adds a high-downforce rear wing, front dive planes, a tall hood Gurney lip, stiffer springs, and stickier Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2R ZP tires.
"Corvette ZR1 continues to showcase how this nameplate elevates at every corner," said Corvette executive chief engineer, Tony Roma. "From design, engineering, development, validation, to driving and setting incredible lap records like these—we do it all in-house."
You will have to spend a pretty penny for all that in-house performance. The new ZR1 starts at $174,995 with destination included, which makes it the most expensive Corvette of all time. But, that's a relatively small price to pay for that type of record-breaking performance.
Chevrolet published each record lap on its YouTube channel. You can watch all of them here.
Update: This story has been updated with videos of each record-breaking run and interviews with Chevrolet engineers and development specialists.
